Beware of Ilva Wallace-St Kitts

[itsjb1]

Just back from a 7 day cruise on the Golden Princess. All was great except our experience with Ilva Wallace in St Kitts.

 

We have done many shore excursions in Europe and in the Caribbean based upon the reccommendations of CC members(including Mandoo in Grenada who was wonderful) and this the 1st time that we have any complaints and feel ripped off.

 

We were a party of 6, 2 grandparents, my wife, myself and our 2 children, ages 13 and 9. I booked Ilva Wallace in July 2004 for March 2005. She quoted me a fee for the 6 of us. I reconfirmed with her by email in January 2005.

 

When we arrived in St Kitts she was waiting for us. Unfortunately, she seemed to have booked other people for the same day, so she passed us on to someone else who she advised would take us on the tour. The driver told me at the end of the tour that Ilva had come up to him that morning and asked if he could cover for her. I was not pleased, as I expected her to do the tour.Once all but 2 of us were in the van, Ilva advised that the fee was going to be more than she quoted. In fact it was 87.5% MORE. .There was no mention of any increase in January or any time after I made the booking. Not very good business practice , in my view.

 

The driver that we had( Trevor) was very good and I have no complaints in that regard.I would not hesitate to use him again. It is not a question of the cost but rather the "bait and switch" manner in which Ilva conducted herself. I have Trevor's phone number and cell phone number if anyone wants it.

 

 

Ilva's excuse for the fee increase was that the tour had been booked so long ago(July 04) and that the price of gas had gone up. Don't most people book well in advance? Do you not expect to pay the price that you are quoted?

 

To me, what occurred is just plain poor business practice. If you are booked with her please reconfirm that she will do the tour and reconfirm the price. If you are thinking of booking with her, be forwarned .

 

 

If anyone thinks that I may have misunderstood her fee quote or anything else,I will gladly post the email correspondence and you can judge for yourself.

[crisp1]

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with Ilva. I just booked with her for this April. She quoted me a price of $30pp for our party of 7. I will e-mail her again before our cruise to confirm. Was her cab and her replacement's large enough for our group- 4 adults and 3 teens? I know that you can hire cabs just off the ship at the tourist booth for $16.50 + $8 for the fort for 3.5 hours. Was your tour this long or longer? Did her price include the admission to the fort? Thanks for the heads up, and any additional info you can give

[itsjb1]

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with Ilva. I just booked with her for this April. She quoted me a price of $30pp for our party of 7. I will e-mail her again before our cruise to confirm. Was her cab and her replacement's large enough for our group- 4 adults and 3 teens? I know that you can hire cabs just off the ship at the tourist booth for $16.50 + $8 for the fort for 3.5 hours. Was your tour this long or longer? Did her price include the admission to the fort? Thanks for the heads up, and any additional info you can give

 

 

 

The van that we had could have held 7 but it may have been a bit tight.I do not know about her van, as we never saw it.

The price did not include entry into the fort.

Our tour was about the same lenght and ended at a beach where there were monkeys in a small group of tree. The monkeys were quite tame and would take a piece of banana right out of your hands.

[crisp1]

You got me thinking. If she ends up being almost double of what I can find at the booth, is it really worth it. One reason I went and booked with her was because of the recommendations. Another is I hate getting stuck on a large bus with dozens of other people- I rather hire someone who will give us a more personal tour at our own pace.Usually the independant tours are less expensive than the ship's, and hers is about $13 less is you figure in the $8. Did you notice whether the other tours were on large busses, or smaller vans. Thanks again.

[itsjb1]

You got me thinking. If she ends up being almost double of what I can find at the booth, is it really worth it. One reason I went and booked with her was because of the recommendations. Another is I hate getting stuck on a large bus with dozens of other people- I rather hire someone who will give us a more personal tour at our own pace.Usually the independant tours are less expensive than the ship's, and hers is about $13 less is you figure in the $8. Did you notice whether the other tours were on large busses, or smaller vans. Thanks again.

 

 

 

Most of the tours appeared to be in smaller vehicles.

[avw]

Our group of 8 people made arrangements for a private tour of St. Kitts through Ilva. Arrangements were made in summer 2004 and our cruise was at the end of November. We couldn't have been more pleased!

 

Ilva met our group at the pier and introduced us to our driver/tour guide "King". He gave us an outstanding tour..and went well beyond what was expected. Our tour lasted a full hour longer than originally planned because King appreciated our interest in his island, of which he is very proud, so he offered to take us to another area that wasn't originally in our plans. When some in our group commented that it was hot and they could use a cold beer, he pulled up to a local bar, went in and came out with 6 ice cold beers for a very cheap price. When we got back to the ship, King asked for the original price that was quoted, even though he gave us an extended tour. We gave him a very generous tip, as we felt that those who can afford to go on a cruise shouldn't take advantage of a hard working person who gave us great service.

 

We would call on Ilva again in a flash.

[mwsrccl]

Just back from a 7 day cruise on the Golden Princess. All was great except our experience with Ilva Wallace in St Kitts.

 

We have done many shore excursions in Europe and in the Caribbean based upon the reccommendations of CC members(including Mandoo in Grenada who was wonderful) and this the 1st time that we have any complaints and feel ripped off.

 

We were a party of 6, 2 grandparents, my wife, myself and our 2 children, ages 13 and 9. I booked Ilva Wallace in July 2004 for March 2005. She quoted me a fee for the 6 of us. I reconfirmed with her by email in January 2005.

 

When we arrived in St Kitts she was waiting for us. Unfortunately, she seemed to have booked other people for the same day, so she passed us on to someone else who she advised would take us on the tour. The driver told me at the end of the tour that Ilva had come up to him that morning and asked if he could cover for her. I was not pleased, as I expected her to do the tour.Once all but 2 of us were in the van, Ilva advised that the fee was going to be more than she quoted. In fact it was 87.5% MORE. .There was no mention of any increase in January or any time after I made the booking. Not very good business practice , in my view.

 

The driver that we had( Trevor) was very good and I have no complaints in that regard.I would not hesitate to use him again. It is not a question of the cost but rather the "bait and switch" manner in which Ilva conducted herself. I have Trevor's phone number and cell phone number if anyone wants it.

 

 

Ilva's excuse for the fee increase was that the tour had been booked so long ago(July 04) and that the price of gas had gone up. Don't most people book well in advance? Do you not expect to pay the price that you are quoted?

 

To me, what occurred is just plain poor business practice. If you are booked with her please reconfirm that she will do the tour and reconfirm the price. If you are thinking of booking with her, be forwarned .

 

 

If anyone thinks that I may have misunderstood her fee quote or anything else,I will gladly post the email correspondence and you can judge for yourself.

 

Just how much did she end of charging you pp?

[jodylee]

My husband and I just returned from A Celebrity cruise. I had pre-booked with Ilva. She met us as planned, but she also gave us to another driver and I was disappointed. When I booked with Ilva I expected her to be our driver and tour guide and booked her specifically due to the CC recommendations. Our driver was very nice, but I suspect her tour was more interesting and informative. She charged us $30/pp which does NOT include the entrance fee of $8/pp into Brimstone.

 

My recommendation would be to verify with her in writing via e-mail that she and only she will be your tour guide, print a copy and bring it with you. Then maybe she will have to send someone else to another driver.

 

Our tour was very comprehensive and totally worth the money charged, but it was not Ilva.

[itsjb1]

Just how much did she end of charging you pp?

 

 

When we booked in July 2004 she quoted us $20 per person with the kids being free for a total cost of $80. We ended up being charged $150. She only told me about the increased charge once all of the others were already in the van.

[LTCRUISER]

We spent April 4 with Ilva and couldn't have been more pleased. I booked with Ilva on March 4. There were 4 of us. She quoted us $30 pp and that is what she charged. We were informed in advance that admission to the fort was not included and was optional. She was charming and informative. (I must say that there are certainly alot of churches on St. Kitts) She picked us up at 8:30 in her van, gave us a tour of the island, took us to the beach, waited for us and dropped us off back at the ship about 2 PM.

Our group has a pretty "smart alec" sense of humor and she went with the flow and gave as good as she got. She is someone that I not only enjoyed touring with but wouldn't hesitate to have in my home.

I can't explain things that happened to others. I can only say that we had a great time and were given even more than we expected.

[crisp1]

Most of the tours appeared to be in smaller vehicles.

 

We just got back. I contacted Ilva before the cruise to make sure that she would be the 'one'. She met us at the port with her sign and signature straw hat. We had 8 in our party- her new van can hold 10-I think. After a somewhat disappointing private tour in St Thomas I was concerned about how our tour would turn out ( Ilva- I know your listening).Our only problem was that the ones in the back of the van missed out on some of her commentary ( yes, she knows every school and church on the island). She spent the entire day with us- we got to see everything, including the fort and got to swim at frigate bay- reminded me of Jersey beaches with nice surf ( but the water was clearer) She even seemed a little disappointed that we were ready to go back to the ship early- we were pooped- she even stopped so our 'canadian friends' could buy cuban cigars ( I told them to wait for Aruba- and I was right- much cheaper and definately real). She was our highlight for the entire cruise. You can hire a cab in the terminal for under $20pp for 2.5 hours +$8 for the fort. The ships tour costs $48pp with the fort included, hers with the fort fees is $38- but it's all day, at your pace, and with a lovely person. Thanks Ilva:)

[mwsrccl]

Just got back from the 11 day Empress of the Seas April 11th cruise. We booked Ilva and could not have been happier! She stayed with us and offered commentary and a wonderful Island experience! I cannot imagine anyone saying anything bad about this nice lady!!!

 

As far as using other drivers goes- What happens is because of Cruise Critic these private tour guides get so busy that they cannot handle all the people, so instead of just telling them hey forget it I am booked, they go out of their way to find a great co-driver. I do agree however that they should tell people ahead of time if they are going to put them with another driver or not.